EU follows Italy’s move to recognize Syrian opposition coalition

 

French President Francois Hollande and Foreign Affairs minister Laurent Fabius pose with Syrian opposition coalition members. France was the first European country to recognize the coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. (AFP Photo / Kenzo Tribouillard)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/syria-opposition-eu-representative-099/

Italy has recognized Syria’s National Coalition as the "legitimate representative" of the Syrian people. The EU has followed that lead declaring the newly formed political body as the only representative of the “aspirations of the Syrian people.”

"We have recognized the coalition that brings together the various opposition groups as legitimate representatives of the Syrian people," Italian Prime Minister, Mario Monti told reporters in Doha on Monday.

The Syrian National Coalition was formed on 11 November when the country’s disparate opposition leaders met in Doha. The body replaced Syrian National Council which had been criticized for being ineffective.

The Foreign ministers of 27 EU nations said the agreement reached in Qatar is a major step towards the necessary unification of the Syrian opposition.

The ministers urged the coalition to continue to respect human rights and democracy and to work with all opposition groups and sections of Syrian society. The statement also said that the EU was “ready” to support coalition relations with the international community.

"I think we will invite the Coalition leaders to our next meeting (in December) to allow them to talk to all the foreign ministers, which will be highly symbolic," said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

Last week France was the first European country to recognize the coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people and a future democratic government. The newly formed coalition has also been recognized by the Gulf Cooperation Council and Turkey.

Earlier this month Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron suggested lifting the 2011 EU arms embargo against all sides in the Syrian conflict. This would allow Western countries to help the opposition in its fight against President Assad.

According to different estimates, the conflict that has been unfolding in Syria since March 2011 has already claimed between 28,000 and 40,000 lives.

 

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France recognizes Syrian opposition coalition

Video Link: Russia Today - YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3896i8coaZE

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/france-syria-opposition-coalition-619/

France is the first of the European countries to fully recognize the Syrian opposition coalition as the "sole legitimate representative" of the Syrian people. Meanwhile the US calls it “a legitimate representative" but is yet to fully recognize it.

"I announce today that France recognizes the Syrian national coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people and as the future government of a democratic Syria which will allow for an end to Bashar al-Assad's regime," President Hollande told a news conference in Paris.

On Sunday in Doha, Syrian opposition groups finally agreed to create a new leadership body united against President Bashar Assad. The coalition emerged after days of talks sponsored by foreign governments pushing for regime change in the embattled nation.

The US has also recognized the National Coalition of Forces of the Syrian Revolution and Opposition as “a legitimate representative” of the Syrian people but stopped short of describing it as the "sole" representative. Washington stressed that the nascent group must first demonstrate its ability to represent Syrians inside the country.

"We look forward to supporting the national coalition as it charts a course for the end of Assad's bloody rule, and marks the start, we believe, of a peaceful, just and democratic future for the people of Syria," US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

Hollande also said he would reconsider the question of arming the opposition.

“On the question of weapons deliveries, France has not supported the initiative as it has been unclear who would ultimately receive the weapons. As soon as there is a legitimate government formed by the coalition in Syria, France will once again look at this question,” he said.

France was also the first country to recognize the Libyan transitional government after the civil war which toppled Gaddafi.

The Arab League, however, has fallen short of giving full recognition. Both Iraq and Algeria have expressed reservations. The Arab League countries that have recognized the new coalition include, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, countries which have been called a US-led ‘puppet group’ by some political commentators.

The umbrella organization, called the National Coalition for Opposition Forces and the Syrian Revolution, will be made up of rebel groups in and outside Syria.

The Syrian opposition hopes that the formation of a more unified body will attract donations from the West and the Arab League, who have both bemoaned the lack of unity among Syrian rebels.

But Franklyn Lamb, an investigative journalist based in Beirut, told RT that the agreement reached by Syrian rebels was weak and they were pushed into an agreement by western powers.

“The reason that we have this tissue paper agreement was because of all the pressure that was put on them; they had to do something,” Lamb said.

The Syrian National Council (SNC), which is the main opposition group within the National Coalition for Opposition Forces, criticized the international community for its inaction, saying that fighters were in desperate need of weapons to break the stalemate with Assad’s forces.

Until the Doha agreement the SNC had refused to fully cooperate with other groups which make up Syria’s disparate opposition but its leader George Sabra, yielded to international pressure and signed an agreement with Moaz Khatib, the leader of the new coalition, which effectively relinquished control of the SNC to the new body.

France was also the first country to recognize the Libyan transitional government, during the civil war which toppled Gaddafi. Since Gaddafi was hunted down and murdered Libya has been in chaos with the government unable to reign-in the various militias, which still control parts of the country.

 

Syrian Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib (L), the newly elected leader of National Coalition for Opposition Forces, walks inside the Arab League headquarters after a meeting on Syria in Cairo on November 12, 2012. (AFP Photo / Khaled Desouki)

 

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Newly formed Syrian opposition bloc calls for specialized weapons

 

Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/13/272026/syrian-opposition-bloc-calls-for-weapons/

The leader of the newly-formed Syrian opposition bloc, known as the National Coalition, has called on world powers to arm insurgents with "specialized weapons".

Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib said on Tuesday that insurgent groups fighting against the Syrian government are in desperate need of arms, AFP reported.

"We need specialized weapons," he said in Cairo without specifying the nature of the arms.

He also urged the European Union to recognize their group and provide them with financial support.

Khatib was elected as the head of the so-called National Coalition Forces of the Syrian Revolution on Sunday after opposition groups signed an initial unity agreement to form a new leadership against President Bashar al-Assad's government after four days of talks in Doha.

The Arab League and six Persian Gulf Arab states have so far recognized the newly-formed bloc as the Syrian people's legitimate representative. The EU and US have also declared support for the opposition bloc, but fell short of recognizing it.

On Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius urged world powers to recognize the newly-formed opposition bloc.

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